Commas and Ampersands
by finkpishnets
Summary: Oneshot. He thinks that maybe, should Luke ask, that this card is Closure, except it's obviously just him digging up the past and not even his Uncle's dumb enough not to notice that. Rory/Logan. Rory/Jess.


**Title:** Commas and Ampersands

**Author:** finkpishnets

**Fandom:** Gilmore Girls

**Rating:** PG

**Pairing:** Rory/Jess

**Spoilers:** All to be safe.

**A/N:** I _know_ it's October, and I _know_ it's completely irrelevant but I wrote it anyway.

It's a spur of the moment decision. He's passing a book store in New York after a hurried morning meeting when he notices the sickly sweet arrangement of hearts and glitter that announce the impending holiday. He's tempted to gag loudly at the men and women perousing them but he's grown up a bit in the last few years and instead rolls his eyes and tries to curve his way around the mob. Just as he has decided to give up trying to buy a new copy of Kerouac's _On The Road_ for the train ride home and get out of the crowd he spots the stand of regular greetings cards, the sort with arty images in black and white that people buy when they can't think of anything else and add there own messages. There's one of the top row of a girl sitting on a bridge, legs curled up under her and a book in her hands, her hair covering her face so she could be anyone but _she_ automatically springs to mind. He picks it up and fights his way to the cash register.

The train gets emptier and emptier as it gets closer to his destination and he takes the time to think of what he wants to write. It can't be the cheesy greeting that she's sure to get from certain other people (the last he heard she was still with that Logan dude and Luke and he had made a pact to never talk about her, especially in regards to her love life) but it can't be something long and pretentious either. He thinks maybe he knows her better than anyone in the world besides Lorelai and then chides himself because it's been three years since he's seen her and three years is plenty of time for someone to change. But it still shouldn't be this hard.

It's not like he's expecting anything. Times change and people move on and even though he's currently very single and still very much in love with her (which he doubts will ever change), it's unhealthy for him to obsess too much. At least, that's what everyone always tells him. Truthfully, since he last saw her he's only been on a handful of dates which have all ended disastrously. He thinks that's sort of a hint.

He thinks that maybe, should Luke ask, that this card is Closure, except it's obviously just him digging up the past and not even his Uncle's dumb enough not to notice that. He can imagine the lecture he's going to receive; something about leaving the poor girl alone and then a long rant about Lorelai and her reaction (because when did Luke _not_ obsess over the elder Gilmore girl?). It's almost enough to persuade him not to send it. But then, he's always been a rebel.

He finds a stamp in the depths of his wallet, wondering at his own organization and posts the card as soon as he's off the train. He stands frozen for a few moments afterwards deliberating on whether he may have finally gone completely insane before shrugging it off and heading home. He tries to ignore the nerves in his stomach at the thought of her getting it.

It's almost the end of February when her mom calls and says she's got some mail for her. She automatically makes plans to come home and, as she drives through Stars Hollow, she's never felt more glad to be back in the crazy town again. Seeing her mom is always a spectacle because the two will hug and scream and jump up and down no matter who's watching and this time it's in the middle of Luke's Diner. Rory ignores the man's glare and just gives him a hug which he awkwardly returns.

As they put away more than their fair share of burgers and fries, the two catch up. She's needed this. She tells Lorelai about Logan's surprise phone call and the extravagant card and two dozen roses she got from him on Valentine's Day. He'd sent them straight to her office and she'd then had to spend the rest of the afternoon simultaneously avoiding all her colleagues invading questions and apologizing to her boss for the disruption. Lorelai pats her on the arm sympathetically and then double checks that Rory has no intention of getting back with him before rolling off a rant about idiot men and did they have no idea what was appropriate and _original_, damn it! Over at the counter Luke tries to hide his grin.

Sometime between the ice cream and the chocolate cake Lorelai remembers about her daughters mail and pulls a small bundle from her bag. There are two online book club catalogs and a letter from her dad who was in Paris visiting Sherry which she reads quickly and then puts in her purse before her mom can see it and get that tight lipped expression she always gets when Christopher is mentioned. Her eyes are briefly diverted to watch Luke and Lorelai bicker good heartedly over the coffee pot and, consequently, she almost skips right over the Philadelphia post mark on the last letter before doing a double take and feeling her heart speed up. Carefully she pulls out the card and laughs in a giddy, childish way that she hasn't in years. There's a girl with a book on a bridge and it's sort of perfect. She wonders where he found it.

Inside it simply says_: Yours, J. _

It's so simple and not really a message at all but it says _everything_. She can feel her mom and Luke watching her carefully and she thinks Lorelai just asked her if she was alright. The presence of a tear on her cheek is surprising and she wonders how on earth it got there because she shouldn't be crying; it's been three years since she saw him last and she's moved on, except she knows that's a lie because it always comes back to him. She thinks maybe fate's trying to tell her something.

When she arrives in Philadelphia the next day it's not really a surprise; it was kind of meant to be.


End file.
